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Dale Coyne Racing’s Zachary Claman De Melo is hoping to reproduce his Indy Lights Road America successes this weekend aboard his #19 Paysafe Indy car when the Verizon IndyCar Series heads to Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin for Round 10 of the 2018 season June 22 to 24.

Claman De Melo picked up his maiden Indy Lights victory in Race 2 of the Road America weekend last season after starting fourth and holds the Indy Lights race track record at the popular venue. In his three other starts at the 4.048-mile, 14-turn circuit, he has a fourth, a fifth and a tenth-place finish.

“Road America is one of my favorite tracks on the schedule. I have great memories racing there as it’s where I won my first Indy Lights race last season and it’s a circuit I’ve always done well at,” said Claman De Melo. “We’ve made some great progress so far this year but have not yet had the chance to show it with a good result aboard our #19 Paysafe car. Hopefully we can change that this weekend and give the #19 Dale Coyne Racing crew the top result that they deserve.”

Despite a strong performance at the previous round at Texas Motor Speedway, the rookie was taken out of contention when fighting for sixth place on his way to a possible top five finish.

Claman De Melo will be able to turn his first laps aboard his Paysafe machine at Road America on Friday, June 22 when he takes to the track at Noon ET for the first of three practice sessions that weekend. Qualifying will take place on Saturday, June 23 at 4:00pm ET.

All practice sessions and qualifying will be streamed live on racecontrol.indycar.com with qualifying also being broadcast on tape delay on NBCSN on Saturday June 24 at 6:30pm ET.

The Kohler Grand Prix at Road America will be broadcast live on NBCSN from 12:30pm ETon Sunday, June 24. The race will also be broadcast live on the Advance Auto Parts IndyCar Radio Network, including SIRIUS/XM 209/214.

Fort Worth, TX (June 9, 2018) – Dale Coyne Racing’s Zachary Claman De Melo was on his way to a possible Top 5 finish aboard his #19 Paysafe machine on Saturday night at the DXC Technology 600 at Texas Motor Speedway when his race came to an end after contact with the sixth placed car pushed him into the wall and out of the race on Lap 205.

After starting 21st, the rookie impressed as he quietly made his way to the front, moving up through on track passes and pit strategy. Despite coming out of the pits in 16th place after his second pit stop on Lap 122, he would then make his way forward gaining a position nearly every few laps.

By Lap 160, he had made his way into the top ten, and was running eighth when a full course caution came out on Lap 173. The young Canadian driver took advantage of the caution period to make his third pit stop and returned to the track in eighth.

While working Lap 205, Claman De Melo made a pass for seventh on the outside and was on his way to passing Will Power for sixth when Power drove up into him, taking both drivers out of contention and ending a great run by the rookie.

“I got a great run on the outside in clean air, I probably would have passed Power as well. I don’t know if his spotter didn’t tell him I was there. Watching the replay, I was clearly there. It’s just one of those moments. I’m sure he didn’t do it on purpose,” expressed Claman De Melo who ended up 17th on the final results sheet.

“I feel bad for him and I feel bad for me and the team. It’s a bad day but I think I showed my potential. It was a great run up until that point. To do what I did today, from second to last to get up to where we were, it was looking like a possible top-5 finish, top 3 even, I can’t thank the whole team enough, Paysafe and everyone. The car the Dale Coyne Racing team gave me was amazing. After a disappointing weekend like this, I can’t wait to get back into the car again.”

Claman De Melo will be back in action aboard the #19 Paysafe car in two weeks, when the Verizon IndyCar Series moves to Road America for the tenth round of the 2018 season.

Plainfield, IL (June 5, 2018) – After making his Verizon IndyCar Series oval debut at the Indianapolis Motor Speedwaylast month, Zachary Claman De Melo will be making his first trip to Texas Motor Speedway this weekend for the DXC Technology 600 as he returns behind the wheel of the #19 Paysafe car.

Claman De Melo progressed nicely over the course of the two weeks on the Indianapolis oval. He qualified a notable 13th and ran strong in the race finishing 19th, after a fuel gamble didn’t go as hoped. The Canadian looks to continue gaining experience all while improving on his lone oval result as he takes to the 1.5-mile Superspeedway.

“This will be my first time racing at Texas Motor Speedway and I’m really looking forward to it,” said the rookie. “It will be nice to get back in the #19 Paysafe car after a week off. I feel that we can be very competitive this weekend as I’m more confident with my oval racing after all the time spent on track during the Indy 500.”

The driver of the #19 Paysafe car will get to discover the high banks of Texas Motor Speedway starting Friday, June 8 during the first practice session that is scheduled for 11:30am local time (12:30pm ET). Qualifying for the ninth round of the season will take place later that day at 3pm local (4pm ET) and will be broadcast live on NBCSN.

The DXC Technology 600 at Texas Motor Speedway will be televised live on NBCSN from 7pm local (8pm ET).

All practice sessions will be streamed live on racecontrol.indycar.com with the race also being broadcast live on the Advance Auto Parts IndyCar Radio Network, including SIRIUS/XM 209/214.

Detroit, MI (June 3, 2018) – Dale Coyne Racing’s Santino Ferrucci continued to impress and gain valuable experience in his Verizon IndyCar Series debut weekend during Race 2 of the Dual in Detroit, even if his 20th place on the results sheet doesn’t show it. While the sun was shining for the race, it wasn’t the…

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Rookie Santino Ferrucci was having an impressive run and was on his way to a strong finish in his Verizon IndyCar Series debut when he got hit from behind through no fault of his own and sent spinning into the tire wall and out of the race on Lap 56.

After qualifying right next to his teammate Sebastien Bourdais in 18th earlier in the day, Ferrucci made steady progress during his first stint moving as high as 12th after passing his teammate on Lap 13.

Electing for a two-stop strategy in the 70-lap event, Ferrucci would find himself in 22nd place, once again ahead of Bourdais, following his pit stop on Lap 17. As his second stint went on, the rookie turned remarkable lap times despite the amount of fuel saving that he was doing.

After his second stop, the driver of the #19 Paysafe car found himself in 13th place as the field went back to green flag racing on Lap 54.

However, that would mark the end of any progress made by the young American as Charlie Kimball would run into the back of him two laps later sending him spinning and straight into the tire wall.

“The #19 Paysafe, Cly-Del Dale Coyne Racing car was absolutely amazing,” expressed Ferrucci. “We had a fantastic balance coming out of qualifying. All the engineers did a fantastic job sorting the car out for me during the race. Once I figured out how to fuel save better, we picked up massive time and we were doing a really good job. We were in great shape to get a potential top 10 finish for my first outing in the Verizon IndyCar Series, so it’s disappointing to get run over like that, but that’s racing and we’ll come back stronger tomorrow.”

Fortunately for Ferrucci, he’ll have another chance tomorrow to take his first checkered flag in the IndyCar Series when Race 2 of the weekend takes place at the Raceway at Belle Isle.

Qualifying for Race 2 will go green at 10:45am on Sunday, June 3, with the race being broadcast live on ABC from 3:30pm later that day. The race will also be broadcast live on the Advance Auto Parts IndyCar Radio Network, including SIRIUS/XM 209/214.

American Santino Ferrucci will be celebrating his 20th birthday by making his Verizon IndyCar Series debut with Dale Coyne Racing at the Detroit Grand Prix doubleheader this weekend.

Ferrucci, whose birthday is today, May 31, got his first taste of an Indy car on Tuesday of this week when he jumped aboard the team’s #19 Paysafe car at Putnam Park in Indiana to acclimate himself with the Honda-powered machine. To further his preparation, he also turned laps on a simulator to learn in the ins and outs of the Raceway at Belle-Isle before taking to the real track on Friday.

“I had a good test with the team at Putnam Park earlier this week, I enjoyed working with the engineers and mechanics,” shared Ferrucci. “I was very comfortable pretty much immediately. I completed a lot of laps throughout the day and practiced pit stops and hitting my marks. We also worked on fuel saving. I did the sim yesterday morning, learning the Detroit track. It was extraordinary. The track is incredibly bumpy and a little terrifying for that reason!

“I’m very relaxed but also very excited coming into this weekend. I hope I can do well and really show my potential and what I can do. I just want to survive the weekend and have a good time.”

The driver from Woodbury, Connecticut will get to experience the real bumpiness of the 2.35-mile, 14-turn street course when he takes to the track on Friday, June 1 for two 45-minute practice sessions.

Qualifying for Race 1 of the Dual in Detroit will take place at 10:55amon Saturday morning ahead of the 3:50pm green flag with qualifying for Race 2 going green at 10:45amon Sunday morning, also ahead of a 3:50pm start.

All practice and qualifying sessions will be streamed live on racecontrol.indycar.com with both races being broadcast live on ABC from 3:30pm on Saturday, June 2 and Sunday June 3.

The races will also be broadcast live on the Advance Auto Parts IndyCar Radio Network, including SIRIUS/XM 209/214.

Dale Coyne Racing’s Zachary Claman De Melo led his first Verizon IndyCar Series laps at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday during the Indy 500, but despite the impressive overall performance, a late race fuel gamble cost the rookie a possible top 10 finish aboard his #19 Paysafe car. In the teams #17 U.S. Air Force entry with Thom Burns Racing, Conor Daly finished his first Indy 500 since 2013 by placing 21st. Below are the Race Reports for both drivers.

Zachary Claman De Melo – #19 Paysafe
Dale Coyne RacingPosition: 19th
Rookie Zachary Claman De Melo put in a strong performance in his Indianapolis 500 debut on Sunday, but a late race fuel gamble cost the driver of the #19 Paysafe car a possible spot in the Top 10. The rookie, who was starting 13th, maintained his position in the middle of the pack for most of the race, climbing his way up when cars ahead of him pitted, which allowed him to lead seven laps throughout the event. With a lack of passing happening on track amongst all the cars, the Paysafe crew used pit stop strategy and fuel saving to get their driver to the front of the field. However, a much needed caution period never came and Claman De Melo was forced to head to pit lane from 10th place for fuel with only three laps to go. The trip down pit lane meant he would end up near the back of the field and take the checkered flag in 19th.

In his own words:
“It was a cool experience getting to race the #19 Paysafe car at the Indy 500. I really enjoyed my time. As much as I wanted to do better results wise, we went for it, we gambled, and it didn’t work but I’m happy we went for it. That’s what the sport is about, and we took a risk. I finished the race, I got a lot of experience under my belt and it will benefit me a lot when I come back next year. I think one more yellow and we would have had a better result. From the crowd, to everything, it’s been super surreal. I loved it, I enjoyed the whole month and I can’t wait to hopefully be back next year.”

Conor Daly – #17 U.S. Air Force
Dale Coyne Racing dba Thom Burns RacingPosition: 21st
Conor Daly finished his first Indianapolis 500 since 2013, registering his best finish at the iconic 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The U.S. Air Force driver made his way up to take the checkered flag in 21st place from his 33rd spot on the starting grid. Daly had potential to finish higher on the final results sheets but his chances of gaining on others through pit strategy was hindered by untimely cautions.

In his own words:
“I think we have to be pretty happy from where we started. We thought it was going to be a much more difficult day. We ended up being pretty competitive and passing some cars. On track we were running with Wickens and Wilson, behind guys that finished in the Top 15, but every time we pitted it went yellow. Again, I can’t seem to find any luck here. I would have been super happy finishing in the top 15 because I knew I was faster than those guys all day. That’s just the frustrating part. I want to thank everyone that helped put this program together from the U.S. Air Force, Thom Burns, Dale Coyne, everyone on the team. I’m super grateful for the opportunity to race at Indy once again.”

Lucky 13 Start for Claman De Melo at Indy 500 Indianapolis, IN (May 20, 2018) – Dale Coyne Racing’s Zachary Claman De Melo impressed on Sunday during the second day of qualifying for the Indy 500 which determined the starting positions for the 33-car field by qualifying 13th. Conor Daly, in the team’s entry with Thom Burns Racing,…

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Dale Coyne Racing had a bittersweet day during the first day of qualifying for the 102nd running of the Indianapolis 500 on Saturday with rookie Zachary Claman De Melo and Conor Daly making the field of 33 while Pippa Mann was unfortunately bumped from a place in next week’s race despite putting in her best effort. Claman De Melo and Daly will set their starting positions during Sunday’s second day of qualifying. Below are the Day 1 qualifying reports for each driver.

Zachary Claman De Melo – #19 PaysafePosition: 26th
Contrary to his month of May teammates, Claman De Melo had a fairly easy day on the first day of qualifying for the Indianapolis 500. The 20-year-old Canadian was the first of the 35 drivers to take to the track, and he did the most with the unfortunate place in the qualifying order to post a four-lap average of 225.722mph.

In his own words:
“I definitely would have liked to go later in line. It’s difficult to go first having never qualified here before in an Indy car. There were a lot of unknowns going into qualifying for me, I kind of figured them out now. It wasn’t really the qualifying we wanted. I wasn’t too pleased with the car. It was easy to drive but we didn’t have the speed. That said, we have a good race car so we should be fine and we have another chance tomorrow to improve our starting position. I’m just happy to be here, the whole event has been a great experience, from the fans to driving here to being with a great team. So, I’m really happy.”

Conor Daly – #17 U.S. Air ForceDale Coyne Racing with Thom Burns RacingPosition: 32nd
It took Conor Daly three attempts to make it into the 102nd Running of the Indianapolis 500 but the driver of the #17 U.S. Air Force car managed to place 32nd on his third attempt thanks to a four lap average of 224.874 mph. Daly found himself 34th after all cars had taken to the track. He then managed to make his way back into 33rd before being bumped out of the field once again. The American was able to make a third and final attempt with less than 20 minutes in the session, guaranteeing himself a spot in the Indy 500.

In his own words:
“It was tough. Yesterday we were confidently running high 226s so we didn’t really expect to worry. Then we went out on our first run and we had a massive imbalance. We found the problem on the scale pad but once you’re already out, you’re in big trouble so we trimmed out, we made some mechanical changes that we didn’t know if they would work and we just had to go out and hold it flat. I’ve never pushed harder on that pedal and I just tried to make sure that it didn’t crash and we made it. It’s a relief just for this whole program with the U. S. Air Force, for my career. I’m just happy to be here.”

Pippa Mann – #63 Donate LifePosition: 34th
Pippa Mann wasn’t as fortunate as her teammate Conor Daly during the final 20 minutes of the qualifying session. Mann initially placed 33rd on her first attempt but was then bumped by Daly to 34th when he made his second attempt into the field. Mann never gave up and kept trying to get back in the top 33 but despite giving it all she had, her four lap average of 224.360 mph wasn’t enough.

In her own words:
“Coming into this May, I knew things were going to be tough. I normally get time in an Indy car once a year. With a new aero package, not getting to do any of the testing ahead of time because we don’t have a budget that allows for that. All of the people who have supported me to be here, Dale Coyne Racing, the entire crew on my car, worked so hard to turn that car over from a road course car to an oval car so we could shake it down, get me through my refresher on Tuesday.

“Wednesday and Thursday, I’ll be honest with you, we thought things were going pretty well. The car handled great. It was really good. It was pretty good in traffic. We thought things were rolling along pretty nicely. The no tow reports, they looked fine.

“Then yesterday morning, I rolled out, 226 out of the box. Great, this isn’t bad. Now let’s trim the car. Went through it again, nothing. That’s when we started to realize we might really be in trouble. We tried everything we could think of yesterday. The boys stayed really, really late last night. We pulled the rack off the car, we resanded the car, resanded the floor. We went through all the brakes again because we thought we had some brakes that were dragging a little bit out.

“I knew if everything we did last night still hadn’t made us go faster, we were going to be in trouble today. But you have to try and get out there anyway. When we got back in line for the last run, we took every single trim we possibly could to the racecar, we did everything.

“Obviously, it wasn’t enough. What’s worse, it was slower than our time before. Once you pulled your time, if the car is still functioning, you kind of have to finish the run because what if somebody in front of me just didn’t get through tech and I withdrew and didn’t complete my run and pulled off the racetrack?

“It’s the worst feeling in the world. The team worked so hard. Earlier today I really thought we were going to get it done. Then we went out, again, for the first run and I knew we were in the fight in final trim. We took it further than any of our cars have gone.

Dale Coyne Racing and Paysafe are pleased to announce that 19 year old American racer Santino Ferrucci will be making his Verizon IndyCar Series debut with the team in June as he takes over the wheel of the #19 Paysafe car for the Dual in Detroit doubleheader weekend at The Raceway at Belle Isle Park June 2 and 3.

Due to the injuries suffered by Pietro Fittipaldi in a World Endurance Championship event earlier in May, the Dale Coyne Racing team has had to do some reshuffling of its driver line up and have turned to the 19-year-old American from Connecticut to fill the seat for the race weekend in Detroit.

Ferrucci currently competes in the FIA Formula 2 Championship in Europe, the primary feeder series for young drivers looking to make it into the Formula 1 World Championship. Additionally, after making a name for himself on the karting scene, and winning numerous races in the junior series, Ferrucci was signed as a development driver by the Haas F1 Team in 2016 and has since completed four test days and 1,180 miles at the wheel of the Haas F1 car.

“It’s a fantastic opportunity to be able to race the #19 Paysafe car with Dale Coyne Racing at Detroit, especially that I’ll be coming off a F2 race in Monaco,” expressed Ferrucci. “The goal is still to be a Formula 1 driver but to be racing in IndyCar is going to be something special. I’m really looking forward to it. It’s just unfortunate that it’s under the circumstances of Pietro (Fittipaldi)’s injuries, I hope he has a speedy recovery and can come back very soon.”

The young American has done most of his recent racing in Europe but he first impressed while competing in the US F2000 Championship in 2013, placing fifth in the standings after coming in half way through the season. At the age of 16, he moved to FIA Formula 3 European Championship, where he spent a year and a half before moving to the GP3 Series. Ferrucci is now in his rookie season in FIA Formula 2 Championship, where he recently finished 6th on the streets of Baku.

“Paysafe is pleased to be able to give another up and coming motor sport talent the opportunity to realize a dream and compete in the hugely exciting Indy car race season. Having Santino behind the wheel of the Paysafe car is another example of how we are supporting new drivers on the circuit and challenging the status quo which in turn mirrors our brand vision of challenging the current state of play as the emerging payments provider,” said Oscar Nieboer, Chief Marketing Officer, Paysafe. “Like our other two drivers, Zach and Pietro, Santino really brings our values to life and we’re looking forward to watching him pilot the #19 Paysafe car in Detroit.”

The Dual in Detroit gets underway with practice on June 1 with Race 1 taking place June 2and Race 2 taking place June 3.

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